HyperPop Production Explained
In this inspiring HyperPop production video course, studio guru Gary Hiebner will teach you how to craft your own HyperPop productions in the style of A.G. Cook, SOPHIE, QT, and others. From the extreme processing/layering to the distorted drums and more, you'll learn the most common components and techniques of this energetic, animated genre with plenty of audio examples along the way - not to mention Gary will show you the exact plugins he's using throughout. These videos are for those with a basic familiarity of their DAW, routing, and electronic music.
Videos
• Chords & Tempo (03:54) - Gary starts off by first explaining what HyperPop is and what he's going to cover in this video series. Then we look at the tempo and chord progression we'll be using.
• Basic 808 Bass Sound (05:58) - Learn how to build up the basic 808 bass sound that will be the main sound of our HyperPop song. Gary shows you how to design this sound in Vital.
• Layering the Bass (07:28) - In this video, we take learn how you can layer up the 808 bass with other types of bass instruments for a bigger sound.
• Processing the Bass (04:44) - You can apply extra processing to the bass to really "Hyper" it up. Discover how to group these bass tracks together and add some bus processing effects.
• Programming a HyperPop Drum Beat (07:12) - Learn how to program some different styles of drum beats for a HyperPop song. We look at a simple straight pop beat, a trap-style beat, a pop punk-style beat, and then see how to make your drums more complex by using a combination of different drum hits.
• Processing the Drums (04:37) - Discover how to process the drums with compression, multi-band compression, clipping, saturation, and distortion. As you'll notice, using huge amounts of saturation and distortion really helps with the style.
• Importing Break Drum Loops (03:39) - What also works well is to import drum loops, heavily process them, and mix them with your other drums. In this video, you'll see how this process works.
• Creating a High Lead Synth (06:05) - To complement the bass in this video, we can design a lead synth that will occupy the higher frequency register.
• Creating a Chiptune-Style Lead (05:26) - In this video, we see how to design a chiptune-style lead synth sound using Vital. Gary then shows you what oscillators and effects he uses to create the sound.
• Vocals & Processing (08:07) - Super fast Auto-Tuned vocals are very characteristic in HyperPop productions. Learn how to achieve this sound while also manipulating the formant on the vocals. Extra processing that will be added includes compression, EQ, saturation, distortion, chorus, delay, and reverb.
• Layering Extra Vocals (04:47) - Layering vocals - both doubling the lead and adding harmonies - is also common in the style and very effective. We look at layering a lower vocal harmony and demonstrate how we use different formant shifting and effects on them.
• Building the Arrangement (04:08) - Here, we take the ideas we've created and build up a pop-style arrangement. Plus, we look at creating variations for different sections of the song.
• Adding Extra Vocal Harmonies (03:55) - We add some more mid- and higher-frequency vocal harmonies with different formant shifting and processing on them, as compared to the main and lower vocals. By combining all these vocals together, you can get an even more hyped-up vocal section.
• Synth Filler (04:26) - See how you can use a heavily processed synth instrument to create a fill in the arrangement between two different sections. The heavy processed synth creates a unique contrast to the rest of the instrumentation.
• Gated Trance Synth (02:04) - Gated trance-style synth instruments also work really well. In this video, Gary shows you how to create this gated instrument from a synth pad.
• Adding Distorted 808 Snares (02:13) - To add more punch to sections of your arrangement, you can take a retro 808-sounding snare and apply heavy amounts of distortion. Mixing this in with the rest of your drum kit can help give that section much more punch and energy.
• Automated Vocal Formant Shifting (02:45) - Another way to create interest with your Auto-Tuned vocals is to automate the formant parameter, so it sounds like that vocal character is shifting around. You'll see how it sounds in this video.
• Creating Chopped, Stuttered Fills (03:13) - In this video, you see how you can create a chopped, stuttered vocal fill, which is another common element in HyperPop.
• Tempo Changes (06:09) - Tempo changes are a good way to maintain interest in your arrangement. Here, you see how to create the tempo change and then also time-stretch any audio parts during the tempo slow-down.
• Transition Effects Pt. 1 (05:12) - Here, we look at different types of transition effects you can use in your songs. Gary shows you how to use some reversed drums, synths, and cymbals and demonstrates how these elements can create movement into the next section.
• Transition Effects Pt. 2 (06:45) - Learn how to use riser effects and impact hits as transition effects. Plus, see how to automate these effects to create extra interest with them in the production.
• Organizing Your Tracks with Buses & Folders (05:07) - We tidy up our song now by packing similar tracks into folders or groups and bussing these to auxiliary channels where we can add further bus processing as needed. Plus, we take a look at some changes to the arrangement of the song.
• Sidechain the Instruments with Bus Compression (06:06) - To finish off, we show you how to sidechain your instrument to the kick track to give the song a bit more bounce. This trick really helps finish off the song and give it that extra excitement.